Abstract
New thermoplastic poly(carbonate-urethane) elastomers Two series of novel thermoplastic poly(carbonate-urethane) elastomers, with different hard-segment content (30 - 60 wt %), were synthesized by melt polymerization from poly(hexane-1,6-diyl carbonate) diol of Mn = 2000 as a soft segment, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) or hexane-1,6-diyl diisocyanate (HDI) and 6,6'-[methylenebis(1,4-phenylenemethylenethio)]dihexan-1-ol as a chain extender. The structure and basic properties of the polymers were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, atomic force microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Shore hardness and tensile tests. The resulting TPUs were colorless polymers, showing almost amorphous structures. The MDI-based TPUs showed higher tensile strengths (up to 21.3 MPa vs. 15.8 MPa) and elongations at break (up to 550% vs. 425%), but poorer low-temperature properties than the HDI-based analogs.
Highlights
Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPUs) are commonly used nowadays due to their unique set of properties, such as excellent elasticity, tensile and breaking strength, very good abrasion and tear properties, as well as good chemical resistance
TPUs are block copolymers, often called segmented, whose macromolecules consist of alternating hard blocks, built from diisocyanate and short-chain diol, and soft segments formed by polymer diol
Polyether TPUs show better hydrolytic resistance in comparison with polyester TPUs, which in turn are more resistant to UV radiation1
Summary
Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPUs) are commonly used nowadays due to their unique set of properties, such as excellent elasticity, tensile and breaking strength, very good abrasion and tear properties, as well as good chemical resistance. They are mainly employed in medicine, car industry, shoe manufacturing, building and construction market. Polyether TPUs show better hydrolytic resistance in comparison with polyester TPUs, which in turn are more resistant to UV radiation1 Both drawbacks can be eliminated when replacing polyester or polyether segments by hydrolytically and oxidativelly stable polycarbonate segments, most often by using poly(hexane1,6-diyl-ethylene carbonate) diol and poly(hexane-1,6-diyl carbonate) diol (PHC) – . This allowed to obtain a new generation of biomedical polymers –
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